U.S. Armada version
U.S. Armada version in Energon box (same as above, just different box)
U.S. Energon ver. (Black, clear orange and green)
Jp Micron Legend (very slight difference between this and the U.S.)
Jp Superlink Limited Power up Unicron (same as Energon)
Givaway/Prize thingy version in clear green meant to be Primus.

You best and easiest choice is the Armada one (either Armada box or Energon box, both are the same)since they are everywhere and on sale cheap in the U.S.

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I asked if I have "Time For L-Gaim" but I got "No Reply From The Wind".

No, it was just all the Minocons working together to fight the big bad off, or something like that. I'm pretty sure Primus is supposed to be something different, within Cybertron itself... I know Primus has been mentioned in Energon a few times, but the Minicons have all but vanished. However, I didn't see the vast majority of Armada, so I could be wrong.

I seen the comparisons. I'm concivenced. I'm picking up a Unicron. Where can you get a reforming
Megatron and galvatron. Because I want to recreate that scene in the TF movie. That part was one of my favorite scenes in the movie.

Yesterday I finally got an Armada Unicron... at my local Target, for $14.79, after tax.
And it was well worth it!
The robot mode is much better proportioned than I'd thought from photos, and the planet mode is just gorgeous. I had to clear off the top of one of my speakers just to have a place to put it, but now that he's staying next to the computer, I transform him much more often than I'd thought I would.

I know what you're thinking: this is the toy Takara/Hasbro should have released in the first place. Well, as is today's trend among toy makers, it takes 'em a few iterations to get it right. ;)

But seriously, go back and look up pics of the original Armada release. I was satisfied with the Armada, but comparing it with these pics, there's just no contest. The clear purple bits on the Armada are atrocious, the orange is all wrong, and the head sculpt--while a decent effort--pales before this new version.

I'm just surprised (and psyched!) they decided to put this out...

--
Sanjeev

'Us Massholes straight up just don't give a fuck. I still pronounce "Mazinger" as "Tranzor Z".'
-Nekrodave

If only it was in the same price range as the original release. I'd also be more psyched if they ditched the silly minicon attachment and glowing hand and went straight for a Classics-style remake of the toy.

fujikuro Wrote:
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> If only it was in the same price range as the
> original release. I'd also be more psyched if
> they ditched the silly minicon attachment and
> glowing hand and went straight for a
> Classics-style remake of the toy.

That's not a minicon... it's one of Cybertron's moons rolling into his mouth.

Hehe...nah, I tend to agree. I was never interested in the minicon gimmickery. I would have preferred if they had made the missile fire gimmicks button-activated. I mean, you *could* just chuck the minicon and keep around a hairpin or something to trigger the gimmicks...but that's a bit of a pain.

Incidentally, while I could easily live without the leg missiles, I DO love the main chest missile gimmick...especially now that the exploding chest cavity is no longer that weak-ass clear purple plastic!

I think the light-up hand is a bit dumb, too, but I think it'll be easy to ignore, just like on the Armada. Or...you could always paint it.

And regarding the price, it's gonna end up being ten times more than the cheapest Armadas seen at retail ($15)! That said, even at $150--which is a lot for a TF, but not much for the average toy (vintage or not) in our hobby--I personally think it's well worth it. I was 8 when the movie touched down in '86, and since then, I've dreamed of a *good* Unicron toy. I mean...he's a fucking evil planet, for chrissakes!

When the Armada came out, I thought this was as good as it was gonna get...and I was okay with it. Just not blown away. This new version, however, just plain KILLS the Armada (again, IMHO), and while still not 100% faithful to the movie animation design, I think it's a DAMN good compromise between "accuracy" and "good toy".

Most likely. I always wonder if they could've done that better, but I'm just not sure. Making it perfectly spherical forces a lot of spherical shell segments to be incorporated into the robot mode...which usually looks shitty (Primus looks kinda meh to me). They already got away with the segments in the lower legs and the second set of wings on his back. Clever...but any more might be pushing their luck.

But even if you didn't mind the shell segments in robot mode, there's still the question of how to pull off the planet mode. I mean, Primus' Cybertron mode had built-in pegs that folded out like landing gear. To do Unicron "right", you have to have a built-in stand that held him up facing forwards, but that'd be damn tough to pull off with that big orbital ring in the way.

Laying him facing up might be the best compromise...and if you're doing that, might as well leave the bottom flat! :P

Crap, I may have to pass on this...enticing as the harbinger of planets is. I've got too many $$ items on pre-order, like the Bruticus FP upgrade (still need Bruticus) and the 3 Tobikage SOCs. I got my Armada Unicron at Walmart, which I'm not proud of, but $38 w/o sales tax was worth it.

My only gripe with the mini-con moon was its tendency to fall out from the attachment point (tub) in Unicron's planet mode. That peg is really loose, and the mini-con just sticks out in a weird way. Then again, with out, there's a weird gap in Unicron.

Any news on whether the eyes still light up red, or did they switch to green? That could be enough to win me over...

I hear you. I'm a clearly nut for the character, so I can't pass this up. Plus, he's unique in the sense that, while the FP Bruticus set is off the hook, there are actually quite a few "off the hook" TFs these days...between these customs, Alternity, and Classics. fujikuro hooked me up with a Classics Bludgeon (or was that supposedly from RotF???), and while it kicks much ass, it sorta blends into the scenery among a lot of other similar-ish TFs, y'knowmsayin?

RedAleseides Wrote:
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> Any news on whether the eyes still light up red,
> or did they switch to green? That could be enough
> to win me over...

Oh shit...I didn't even think of that! Well, you can't really tell from the pics (the unlit eyes look just as black as the Armada)...and since green glow is probably getting greedy, I'm guessing they're still red. Just too much to hope for. :/

I haven't 'studied' the head lately, but is it jus a red LED or red clear eyes? Well, I suppose between green eyes and a red glowing hand...it'd look a bit Christmasy.

Yeah, that Classics Bludgeon is pretty awesome. Funny thing, I didn't actually see ROTF until it came out on DVD, so I was inundated with the cool and vast array of spin-off ROTF toys. I was looking forward to seeing Bludgeon on the big screen, but I guess not.

Speaking of modding, how cool would it be to put some Orsen Wells sound clips in there too?

And nothing. You belong to me... now.

For a time, I considered sparing your wretched little planet, Cybertron. But now, you shall witness... its DISMEMBERMENT.

Heh...Red, I can hear his voice now, man! If the C's weren't playing the Lakers tonight, I'd pop in the movie!

Anyway, I'll check tonight to make certain, but I'm 99% sure these are colored LEDs and clear plastic. From all the pics available online, both Unicron heads appear to have black eyes...but the hands are clear, so that's obviously a red LED.

Like I said, I couldn't care less about the hand. I don't know much about electronics, but I'd be a happy sumbitch if I can find out how to replace the red LED with a green...

Dammit, Sanjeev. You're making a convert out of me! The head sculpt and the colors...the Armada looks more like a cheap candy toy rip off, especially with the clear chest and the fortune cookie butt chin.

Yeah, I was perfectly happy with my Unicron until I saw the new face sculpt...ugh!

20 years later and the legacy of the Unicron that should be in my collection is still unsettled!

On a side note, don't be the ONLY guy at the office who can recite the entire five minute Megatron/Unicron dialogue from memory (with a paper clip and legal pad playing their respective parts as visual aides).

Aiight, I checked last night and confirmed: the eyes are essentially clear (though they appear black). The LED is definitely red (if you activate it in the dark, the red shines clearly through the thin plastic in the face). I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like the head can be disassembled pretty easily via screws in the back...

Anyway, yeah man...the new head sculpt is dope (heh..."fortune cookie butt chin"!), and the new orange makes the Armada figure look cheap as fuck. But here's what really gets me: only the head has been resculpted, right? And the new figure is painted up in "accurate" movie colors, right? Well, go back and look at pics of Unicron from the movie. They pretty much *nailed* the sculpt of the movie body. Sure, they added the splitting chest, but besides that, all the little circular "crater" details and shit like that...all from the movie design.

I guess my point is that they could have made this toy so much better from the start if they'd just chosen to color it correctly. The off-orange, clear bits, and purple accents just kill the thing. The new version is colored right and not only does it look fantastic compared to the Armada, but it actually looks authentic to the movie design. Eh well.

Oh, one cool thing I got from that article, Red, is that Unicron was originally intended to have a moon. That's pretty sweet...now Dead End/Bug/whatever has a little more solid context for me!

And, Adam, I'm probably the only one who can recite that whole scene in my office...I think I should be worried... ;)

Sanjeev, I'm with you on the moon thing. Not only is there context, but it reassures me that there was some actual intention put into including Dead End/Bug, especially with that honking cannon sticking out. I used thing it was just one of those weird design choices Takara made (I never liked the mini-cons marketing concept, and I'm not too thrilled about the powerlinx either.)

So, where did you pre-order this Shin (True) Unicron? Did you shop around for a good (shipping) price? It better not be sold out yet, given the way you've been hyping this. I'm gonna be so pissed!

I'm saying, man! I hated the whole minicon gimmick because it was totally Pokemon...with robots. Hell, I didn't even watch the show, and I still felt dirty with that whole vibe smeared all over their marketing and packaging! The Headmaster/Targetmaster/Powermaster thing back in the day was cool...but this...eck..

But yeah, a little moon housing a big fucking gun...it's pretty wild to learn that that was in the concept art before the original movie mechanical designs were even finalized! Nuff respect due.

Hehe...man, I don't mean to be a one-man hype event! Again, I'm just a sucker for the character, and no one else seems to wanna step up to champion the chaos bringer!

As for actually purchasing this fucker, I dug pretty deep on the internets. Basically *every* damn place I looked, it was sold out! Fortunately, RobotKingdom, the Seibertron sponsor listed on their original page where I ganked all these pics, still has it! Granted, they're in Hong Kong, so shipping will kick your ass...but like I said, I couldn't find it in stock anywhere else. After shipping, mine came to $152 (I'm in MA)...which, ironically, I think will end up being cheaper than BBTS, who had them for $140 plus whatever they charge for shipping.

This toy is pretty much perfect. I can't nitpick too much on the clear hand and red eyes. Can you just imagine tearing into that huge box? Nothing against window boxes, but they don't have the same element of surprise as a solid box. I always admired the Primus box used for the Japan release... nice to see Unicron getting something similar. Suspect the package art is done by Hidetsugu Yoshioka (who illustrated the very slick box for THS Convoy Black ver.), but can't confirm.

Word has it that a Primus reissue is planned as well (look at the blue bottom right corner). Possibly a repaint.

I hear you, Daniel. This almost feels like a Jumbo Machinder villain box! But yeah, a window box, in my opinion, would only really look good if it featured the planet mode ominously suspended in vacu-formed plastic...with maybe a star field background... But you KNOW this'll be packaged in robutt mode...

And good call on the Primus in the corner...I hadn't even really noticed that! I wonder how they'll make it look! I picked up the original toy, but I've always found it a bit boring... If they manage to make the planet mode really evocative of the animation design for Cybertron, I may consider it...

I seem to always be on the "I should've ordered this thing way back then." (Ultra Magnus armor comes to mind. It took me 2 years to get that without paying an arm and a leg. I'm glad he put up the link to Robotkingdom. I paid $150 + and am hating that BUT I know the sting of the purchase will be gone by Sept. If I would do anything to the figure it would be to give it a bit of a weathered shading to make all those little details pop. The colors ARE dead on just a little plastic-ey for me to just leave it as is.

For the $150.00 do we get the base that makes it look like it's floating? I know another company made them but I thought Takara might have incorporated that as well. (The people that make the Unicron base is the same people that is doing an Arcee right.

Last bit of ??????

It is pretty easy to figure out the scale of the classics line. Does anyone have an idea of what scale this Unicron is to the movie character. (It's got to have a lot of zero 1/4200000 scale. I know the one in the movie's scale was all over the map. I heard that Unicron was about the size of our moon then other times he is as big as Jupiter.

Yeah, Unicron is large enough to eat other planets, and is about the same size as cybertron when in "planet" mode, yet small enough when transformed that a couple Autobots could crash through his eye. Where other Transformers do have some "mass-shifting" you never see them turn into something larger than their robot modes. So, what's the real scale? Eh, who knows.

Anytime, Marvin. But, yo, like I said: it was Ginrai who put me on to this gem. Anyway, you ain't lying: I'm pretty damn sure this is the most I've ever spent on a new Transformer (retail). Expensive hobby, though. I'm sure it'll be worth it.

As for panel-lining it, I'm probably gonna leave it alone this time. I'm leaning towards no because they just nailed the sculpt and colors so well...I kinda don't want to make it look too busy and distract from the killer cartoon-accurate look. That said, I actually did panel-line my Armada Unicron. I definitely think it was an improvement, but the look was flawed to begin with, so with "accuracy" a complete non-factor, anything that made it look "nicer" was a plus. I dunno. Either way, if you panel-line (or otherwise weather) yours, definitely post pics!

Regarding the base, I'm pretty sure it's *not* gonna come with one...otherwise we would've seen it advertised at some point. I was lucky enough to score the first fan-made ones (unicron.com). It's okay, but far from perfect. It's stable, but the plastic has just too much give so it can be a bit wobbly. They really should do a new run of them--not just because of the new G1 Unicron, but for all the other repaints/reissues there've been since Unicron's first release.

And as for scale, I was mad bored at work the other day, so I decided to look the shit up! Basically, it seems to boil down to a couple paradigms. First, if you're all about JUST the cartoon, Unicron's about the size of Cybertron (somewhere between Earth's moon- and Earth-sized). BUT...if you follow the old-school comic (which kicks MUCH ass, by the way!), he's about the size of Saturn. Pretty big difference...but I guess it makes sense given how radically different the cartoon vs comic origins are.

And once again, Ginrai came through by sending me that tfw2005 link to the new Primus a little while ago! I dunno. I'm not blown away by it. Then again, I wasn't blown away by the first toy either. I'm just not THAT interested in a Cybertron that turns into Primus (I assume that comes from one of the more recent cartoons...but did this concept show up in any of the classic comics??). I'd rather have a non-transforming Cybertron toy or even model, more or less in-scale with the Unicron toy, that was colored--maybe even light-up!--*exactly* how it looked in the old cartoon. Neither the old Primus toy nor this new one really look very much like the cartoon in planet mode...

Then again, the tfw2005 Primus pic may be just a prototype--afterall, the new Takara G1 Unicron has changed a bit, too, since the earlier pics:

That's classic! Once Hasbro ran out of the pre-engineered Micro's and Diaclones, the drop in the level of creativity and complexity of the latter releases really showed.

I don't think even I would have bought that back then. Maybe that was meant for the "live action" movie they were originally going to do back then, with Orson Welles actually being in the suit. Explains a lot.